The Rotary Greenway Trail

Robinson St. traffic count 516

Douro ST. traffic count 2466

Hunter St. E traffic count 15,931----no curb cut, no bollards, no crosswalk striping,
no flashing amber,no bike xing warning signs for motorists.
Parkhill xing has actuated stoplight with traffic count 16,563....only 700 fewer than Hunter St.

This trail is probably the safest trail in Peterborough barring the new Tollington Bridge extension (see Tollington Bridge Dangers July (/07).
The reason being that it mostly follows the river so there are less intersections to deal with.
It is also the trail most worthy of being called a transportation artery as it is a major north/south route for bicycle commuters, including students and faculty from Trent U and Thomas A Stewart CI
That being said it fails miserably on crossing safety at Hunter St. E. In fact it has no crossing features whatsoever. There are no yellow bollards....no ramped curb cuts......there is no crosswalk striping...... and there are no bike Xing warning signs for motorists!!! Yet this stretch of Hunter has a traffic count of 15,931 !!! Robinson St., the next crossing south, is better marked and only has a traffic count of 516. This is a gross oversight on Peterborough's favourite and most populous trail. For novice cyclists and unwary motorists, this is an accident waiting to happen.

Recommendations to improve safety:

• install bollards at trail entrance each side
• cut curbs and ramp
  
• broad broken crosswalk stripe on pavement
• overhead flashing amber crossing sign actuated by trail crosser
• bike X warning signs installed on Hunter St. at crossing and 1/2 block away in each direction
  

A Critique of BikePaths in Peterborough

Chemong Rd. and Parkway Path Crossing (motorists' view)

Parkway Bike Path at Chemong Rd

Recreational cyclists and those who have not learned to ride on the road according to vehicular cycling principles choose to ride on bike paths and clamor for the city to build more.
They feel they won't have to deal with traffic and they perceive multi-use paths as safer than roads. Parents and school officials advise children to use MUPs.
Other than the fact that cyclists have to deal with little old ladies with little dogs on long leashes, big dogs off-leash, walkers with baby strollers, other uneducated cyclists who don't warn them (or pedestrians) when overtaking from behind, and rollerbladers doing dance moves, the MUP is only safe between road crossings. Most road accidents happen at intersections and many of these people, particularly children, do not have the skills to cross a busy road safely.
If the city is going to design and build MUPs, they must do so safely, taking into account the users' skill levels. This means all paths should have ramped curb-cuts and signage to warn and direct cyclists, and they must have adequate crosswalk markings and warning signs for motorists.

The road crossing at Parkway Trail and Chemong Rd. is probably the newest path crossing and the city has gone to a lot of expense to create an island half-way across this busy 4-lane road, complete with maze to prevent cyclists from riding straight across. Yet a young boy almost died a week ago (he's in Sunnybrook Hospital with serious head injuries), and another of similar age did die last year near this crossing. Can this crossing be improved to make it safer? I think so.

The bike-crossing sign at Armour Rd. and Rotary Greenway Trail is much more explicit, showing an X under bicycle symbol and the crosswalk marking is more explicit too, using a much wider broken line. After motorists have seen the Armour Rd sign, the Chemong sign which shows bicycle symbol with line beneath it is confusing as it is not uniform and could be mis-interpreted. Also, Chemong sign is on pole above traffic light warning sign which could lead motorists to believe, if there is a bike crossing, it is at the lights.
Some cyclists I met and spoke to at this crossing felt they would feel safer with a flashing overhead amber light.
According to City of Peterborough traffic count, this section of Chemong Rd. is used by 22836 cars daily, making it second only to Lansdowne W. in volume. A flashing overhead amber actuated by trail crosser would be a damn good idea. Traffic light warning sign should be taken down and moved past bike X sign. Another bike X sign should be posted further from crossing on vehicle approach.
If these improvements were made at this busy intersection, they could be used as a benchmark for other bike crossings in the city. And the City of Peterborough would be able to say that they've done all they could for crossing safety.